Newsletter
"First Things":
September 2007
Contents...
Church
News
Session News
Campus/Youth/Children
Fellowship/Study Groups
And
More
From the Pastor's Pen
Dear Members and Friends of FPC:
A little bit of church history - The years
1500-1650 were known in Europe as a time of Reform. It was 1517
when the great religious revolution called The Reformation
broke out with Marin Luther protesting the sale of indulgences.
This was where clergymen and bankers' agents collected money in return
for absolving the purchaser of his/her sins. The great Reformers
of the time were Luther (Germany), Calvin (Switzerland), Knox
(Scotland), and Zwingli (Switzerland).
The next period (for our sake, let me set the dates
as 1650-1789) was known as Evangelical or Methodist Revival in
Britain and in the North American colonies The Great Awakening.
During this time there was a shift from the age of reasoning to the
age of renewal. Deadening formality was replaced by a fresh wind
of the Spirit. There was a spiritual hunger on the part of
people as revival broke out. There are four generally accepted
Great Awakenings in U.S. history:
-
The First Great Awakening (1730s-1740s)
-
The Second Great Awakening (1800s-1830s)
-
The Third Great Awakening (1880s-1900s)
-
The Fourth Great Awakening or Consciousness
Revolution (1960s-1970s)
In the colonies there was preacher, philosopher and
theologian Jonathan Edwards and in Britain, George Whitefield and, the
founders of the Methodist movement, John and Charles Wesley who
captured the hearts and minds of their listeners.
As I have been reading about John Wesley and the
Methodist movement, there is a great deal to be learned or relearned
by the church today. Wesley was an evangelist who was the
organizer and administrator of a rapidly expanding movement. He
also developed a discipleship system.
Since 2007 is The Year of Discipleship
at First Presbyterian Church, I invite you to join me this month as we
look at the Wesleyan way of Christian formation and how it can impact
us individually as well as corporately.
God bless you aw we begin the fall season. I hope to see U in CH_RCH.
Yours in Christ,
Mark
From the Pulpit
- September 2 Communion
- Scripture: Matthew 4:18-22, 9:9, 10:1-4, 18:20
Sermon: “SMALL CAN BE GOOD - WHAT WE CAN LEARN FROM JOHN WESLEY” Part I
September 9 - Scripture: Matthew 18:20
Sermon: “HOW THEN SHALL WE LIVE? - WHAT WE CAN LEARN FROM JOHN WESLEY”
Part II
September 16- Scripture: Matthew 18:20
Sermon: “SHARING WITHIN COMMUNITY - WHAT WE CAN LEARN FROM JOHN WESLEY”
Part III
September 23 - Preaching, Ryan Lawrence
-
- September 30
- Scripture: Matthew 18:20
Sermon: "WRAPPING UP WESLEY - WHAT WE CAN LEARN FROM JOHN WESLEY” Part IV
-
Church News
Ford's Focus
One of the enemies that all of us must guard
against is professional hardness. You don't have to be a
professional in the technical sense of the word to be affected by a
cold heart. Don't get me wrong, I don't expect my physician to
burst into tears when I share with him my physical maladies.
However, I do appreciate when he or she makes eye contact and at
least appears to care about my pain. There is a certain amount
of professional distance that is required to anyone who routinely
works around human pain. Our heart could not take it if we
emotionally enmeshed in each person or problem we come in contact.
However, if we are not careful we only deal with people with our
heads or our hands and not our hearts.
I must remind myself everyday that I am not
"dealing" with a case number, rather a person. This is someone's
father, mother, son, daughter, sister or brother. They have
feelings too, although they are often masked behind a negative
demeanor. Jesus always remembered to respect the dignity of the
ones he reached to in His days on Earth. This morning in my
Bible reading I was reminded of how Jesus restored the dignity of the
woman caught in the act of Adultery. John records that Jesus
refused to cast stones although he was the only one qualified to do
so. The old adage, "if it was not for the grace of God there go
I" is something all of us need to remember. The next time you
see someone standing in the food line on "food pantry day" ask
yourself, "What if I were standing there." Or the next time you
see that street person who is so unkempt, ask yourself, "If I would
have had his parents or family history, would I have been different?"
God has planted each of us in this wonderful Inner
City church for a reason. He knows that we can handle the
challenges that come with the turf. We are people who care.
Therefore we will resist the tendency to avoid eye contact and duck
our head when we are being approached for a handout. We will
invite conversations with those who attend our sit down meals and
those who come for weekly groceries. They are more than a poor
situation, rather they are a person for whom Christ died and He has
given us the wonderful honor of representing His love and Grace to
them. Thank you for listening to my sermon that I have been
preaching to myself. I hope it helped you as it did me.
God bless!!
Come and Grow with WNGs
Do you understand the difference between believing God and
believing in God? Join the Wednesday Night Group as we accompany
best-selling author and popular woman's conference leader Beth Moore
in exploring what it means to know and truly believe God -- as
described in Isaiah 43:10. Drawing from the "Heroes of the
Faith" in Hebrews 11, this study examines the lives of Abraham, Moses
and others who believed God. Through their examples, Beth
encourages women to deepen their own trust in God and receive a fresh
word from Him.
The series will involve ten half hour videos in segments of one per
week followed by a group discussion. For those who want to go
deeper, a five day a week study book is available for purchase.
Contact Pat Franklin if you would like to join us as we seek a more
active, living faith -- one that begins with... believing God.
Food Pantry
The Deacons’ Food Pantry served 622 families in
the month of July. A total of 2105 people were served.
We also served 250 people total at both of our Walk in Meals.
As a result, we spent $2500 to cover the food..
Sunday School Kickoff Breakfast -
Sunday September 9th
The new Sunday School season will kick off with a
continental breakfast program for all ages on Sunday, Sept. 9th at
9:00 a.m. Afterwards all youth and adult Sunday School classes
and their teachers will be introduced. The program will
include slides of summer outreach including the adult mission trip,
youth mission trips, Summer's Best Two Weeks (SB2W), and the Concert
in the Lot. The regular class schedule will commence on Sept.
16th.
Fall/Winter Hours Starting Soon!
Don’t miss out on anything when the Fall/Winter Hours
start on September 9, 2007. Sunday
School will be at 9:30 and Worship will begin at 10:45.
A Flu Vaccine Clinic
A flu vaccine clinic will be held at First
Presbyterian Church on Sunday, November 4th, following the worship
service. If you have Medicare B, there is no charge.
Bring your card with you for verification. Most HMOs have
their own sites. All others will be charged $25. This
can be paid with cash or by check. Please indicate on the back
of the fellowship card or call the church office 330-434-5183 if you
are interested.
Session News
Session Highlights
-
The Christian Growth and Development Team reported on
the successful summer Son Rise Cafe (held during the Sunday
School Hour), the upcoming Fall Kick-Off Sunday, September 9th
and the exciting fall opportunities during the Sunday School
hour.
-
Christian Growth and Development and Property and
Maintenance reported that the nursery will be painted and
new carpet/flooring will be installed and that new carpet is
being considered for the hallway outside the church offices.
Campus/Youth/Children
Wide World of Youth
We are heading into Super September! Read
all about it on the Youth page.
Fellowship/Study Groups
Tuesday Club
The Tuesday club will meet at 1:00 pm on September 18th at
Tomaso's Italian Villa, 3271 Barber Road, Norton. Contact the church office for more information.
Morning Circle
Morning Circle will meet Monday, September 10th, at 10 a.m. in
the church parlor. We will begin the study of Ruth, Chapter 1, from
the PW study book of Jonah and Ruth, Lesson 6. Women of the
congregation are invited to attend and bring a friend.
WNGs
They that hope in the Lord shall renew their strength. They
shall mount up with wings as eagles..." Isaiah 40:31
Women of the church are invited to participate in the Wednesday
Night Intergenerational Caring Group at 7:00 pm. Upcoming gatherings
include:
September 5, 12, 19, and 26th - meet at the church for the prayer
walks.
Evening Circle
Evening Circle will be meeting on September 18th
at 7:30. We will be studying Genesis and it is at the home of
Barbara Rothwell. All women of the congregation are invited to
attend.
First Faithful Friends
First Faithful Friends: Ladies are invited to join us on Tuesday,
September 11, for our first gathering of fellowship and study.
Contact Suzanne Gibson for additional information.
Men's Bible Study
There are two men's bible study groups at First Presbyterian Church.
- Wednesday
morning at 6:30 am
- Friday
morning at 6:30 am
Contact the church office for more information.
Loss Support Group
The next meeting of the Loss Support Group will be on September 4th
at 7:00 in the parlor. This group is for those who have
experienced a type of loss - the death of a loved one or a friend or
animal, a change in a relationship, the loss of a job, etc. All
are welcome to join our group that meets once a month.
And More
Newsletter Deadlines
The deadline for the September issue of First Things is
September 9, 2007.
Plain English
God is like Tide: He gets the stains out that others
leave behind.
Presbyterian
Church (U.S.A.)
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